A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated five years of Joe and I knowing each other and six months of Bensen being in our lives. A couple of months ago, Sharlee of My New Lines wrote a post about enjoying each season of her daughter's life and it's something that I've been thinking about ever since. At first I started pondering as a mom, watching Bensen grow and learn new things has been a lot of fun, but sometimes I want to cry when I think about how much I miss that teeny, tiny newborn of mine who always wanted to curl up on my chest and cuddle. Then I started to think about it in terms of my marriage and how it's my goal to make my marriage a priority throughout every stage of life. Do you ever find yourself reminiscing on earlier times in your marriage and thinking about the fun times and how much you enjoyed them? Do those thoughts ever shift to wishing your lives together were still like they used to be? I think it can happen in the happiest of marriages, but I'm hoping that these three tips will help you find more joy in the current stage of your journey through life together!

Do Something You've Been Putting Off Until Tomorrow

Often times I find myself with a laundry list of things that I want to do at some point in time. Some of them are time consuming and have been put off for understandable reasons, although, if I'm being honest, I could probably find time to get started on them. Other things, like texting a friend or doing something fun with my little family, I need to stop putting off for tomorrow and do them today instead. Plan that fun date night, schedule that night away together, spend a little extra money on something that you both love, try out that new restaurant that might be a little out of your comfort zone. There may be things on your list that you can't do now for one reason or another, but I bet there are plenty of "we should do _____ some time"s that you could easily do right now. Don't wait any longer, enjoy your now!

Look for Happy and Memorable Moments in Your Now

It's a lot of fun to look back on old pictures and journals, laughing over the ridiculous things I did, smiling over all of the memories, and remembering the good times. It can also be fun to dream about the future and all of the things that you plan to do. Don't forget that you were once dreaming about your present and that the things you are experiencing now will one day be memories that you look back on fondly. Don't get too caught up in waiting for your next stage in life that you forget to enjoy the current one, the one that you'd been looking forward to for so long. Keep a daily journal and record all of the moments that mean anything to you. Were you able to enjoy an uninterrupted meal together? Did you finally get to go on that date? Did your spouse say something that impacted you? You'll want to remember those little things in the future, and recording them daily will help you to better recognize all of the special moments that life brings your way.

Read: Why You Need to Make Your Spouse a Priority Every Day!

Learn from Your Past, Plan for Your Future, Live in Your Now

Sometimes I cringe thinking about my earlier years and all of the stupid things that I did. Other times I realize that I was better in some areas of myself then than I am now. The same is true of my marriage, there are a lot of things that we do better now, but there are also a lot of things that we did better then. I try really hard to take those thoughts and turn them into actions now. When I think back to our dating days, I remember how busy our lives were, but how determined we were to spend a few hours together every single day. That reminds me not to take for granted the fact that we live together and see each other more hours every day than we did while we were dating. Just because we're breathing the same air more often doesn't mean we're prioritizing the time we spend working on our relationship as much as we did back then. What can you take from the past stages of your relationship and apply to your present stage to make it even better?

It's also important to think about and plan for the future. What goals and dreams do you have for the stages of life and marriage that you haven't reached yet? No matter how old you are or how long you've been together, there is always something new ahead that you haven't ever experienced before. You need to prepare now to make your dreams a reality in the future. We have goals to take our kids on memorable vacations and build a forever home that is set up for our ideal situation, with lots of space for entertaining and family togetherness as well as a master suite that can be a sanctuary for our marriage. Those hopes and dreams aren't achievable right now, and feel like they're too far into the distant future to focus on now, but we can still be doing little things in our current stage of life to help us prepare to make those things our reality when we get to that point. What goals do you have individually and as a couple that you can do something about now?

Amberly & Joe
We are always striving to make our marriage a top priority no matter what life brings. Constant communication, intentional quality time, and laughter keep us focused on building our relationship with each other. Join us, and make your marriage the most important relationship in your life.

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DISCLOSURE

I (Amberly) amy a Provisionally Certified Family Life Educator with a bachelor's degree in Family Studies. I do not provide marriage counseling. A Prioritized Marriage is written for informational purposes only. I am willing to provide suggestions on how you can make your own marriage more of a priority based on your stage in life. For relationships that need more help, I recommend you consult with a licensed professional who is capable of providing advice and counseling specific to your situation.

A Prioritized Marriage is a for profit blog. The blog may contain paid advertisements, sponsored posts and giveaways, and affiliate links. All sponsored content will be clearly labeled as such. I only share products and companies that I truly believe will benefit you and strengthen the relationship that you have with your spouse. All opinions are 100% my own.

A Prioritized Marriage is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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